It now appears that disk washing machines are no longer one of the things whose possession, at best, brings compassionate looks to less analogously polarized neighbors, while more intolerant natures bring a near-veritable madman. No, if flea market bargain or expensive bought US-pressing in first edition, they all belong to the first play gently, but thoroughly cleaned. There should be consensus on this. (Web: www.walterkircher.com , price: 50 – 60 Euro)

However, there is less agreement on which remedies are suitable for rendering the precious vinyl cleaner. The advice to add distilled water with isopropanol and a splash of rinse aid has been around for a long time, but aside from well-intentioned efforts to get the cheapest laundry for the money, there is a broad market of professional detergents whose formulas are often kept as secret as it used to be Coca-Cola with the recipe „the only true Coke“ has preexercised. Even brand new vinyl should then play with much more freshness and brilliance. Apart from the by no means undisputed problem of the so-called release agent residues, not least the promised reduction of the static charge of the black gold should be beneficial to the enjoyment of listening.

Chistos vinyl care products

Yuri Zamazeev is one who has deeply riveted into the subject of vinyl cleaning. He is the founder and owner of the Ukrainian high-end manufacturer Chisto, which has also made a name for itself internationally through high-quality cables. Zamazeev is not a whisker, which would not be so absurd when it comes to plate washing, but someone who knows how to analyze problems extensively and then convert them purposefully into marketable products.

In addition to the basic plate cleaner product Easy Groove Concentrate, Chisto also offers a few „specialists“: Easy Groove Virgin for new vinyl and Easy Groove Spray & Wipe for machine-free cleaning. In addition, the Easy Groove Extreme Mk.II, which is used for intensive pre-cleaning, is particularly effective when it gets very dirty and makes sticky liquids, strongly adhering deposits and similar debris disks unplayable. Also planned for prewash is Easy Groove EnzyCaster, which contains special enzymes, which promises Chisto an even more intensive cleaning effect compared to the basic product Easy Groove Concentrate. With Easy Groove EnzyCaster, the dust that has typically accumulated from older panels is to be put to rest for decades.

Walter Kircher from the Chisto sales department for Germany and Austria has just left us the complete range of Easy Groove plate cleaners at prices between 50 and 60 euros per vial and almost compassionate smiles and a lot of pleasure in plate washing. But this sympathy did not really need it. If you have a high-end plate washing machine like the well-publicized Nessie Vinylmaster from Draabe Technologies, only a few steps are required and you can already test the promised effect of the Chisto detergents on a meanwhile quite substantial fund of unwashed flea market vinyls.

Mix, wash, suck

Chisto cleaning solutions contain no alcohol, making them suitable for vinyl andshellac; moreover, they should be biodegradable. If a splash comes into the eye, this is no more dangerous than if you are contaminated with a commercial detergent. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to lick your fingers after completed record washing, even if the clean vinyl is still so seductive.

Easy Groove Concentrate and Easy Groove Virgin deliver Chisto as concentrates in 100-milliliter vials. Mixed with 900 milliliters of double-distilled water, this results in one liter of ready-to-use solution. An amount that is sufficient according to the manufacturer to clean about 200 LPs. In the colorless, clear solutions odor is largely neutral. A haunting odor such as ethanol, isopropanol, or an eco-cleaner used by me in hardship cases, thankfully, is left out.

Chisto likes to point out the particularly strong antistatic effect of the cleaners. In fact, when you are scanning the empty groove, you can hear a wonderful calm and, if I am not mistaken, there are fewer dust particles on the needle and on the glass at the end of the first page than usual. No, I have not counted the fine lint, but at least I see no reason to contradict the claims of Chisto on this point.

Marked sayings, after which you have never experienced his record collection so, I really do not like very much. As a rule, a freshly machine-cleaned record is superior to a mere dusty record when played in many respects, and whether Chistos Easy Groove can dramatically improve its sound quality compared to other means is ultimately difficult to prove. Nevertheless, satisfaction with the results of the washing campaign quickly sets in. Timbres, depth and dynamics of well-known discs are harmonious and at a high level, while the excellent soothing running sounds are the icing on the cake.

Hardship cases & flea market sweets

After first treating daily played and partly previously washed plates with Easy Groove Concentrate, I now take a pile of flea market achievements, which have stronger levels of soiling and have been waiting longer for a first wash. Here the special pre-cleaners from the house of Chisto can prove their skills.

The ready-to-use Easy Groove Extreme can be applied directly to the plate with the spray bottle, while Easy Groove Enzycaster as a concentrate is previously mixed with double-distilled water. However, the manufacturer recommends to 40-45 ° warm water, because the enzymes should then develop their optimal cleaning power. Unlike the Concentrate, the approach should be used within five hours if possible, since afterwards losses of activity must be expected. If you stick to these recommendations, the EnzyCaster is more productive and therefore more economical to use than Easy Groove Extreme.

I put the latter with the spray bottle and my EnzyCaster approach with a plastic laboratory bottle on the dirty second-hand vinyl. The amount is calculated so that it covers the vinyl just. Afterwards it is advisable to incorporate the detergents with a suitable plate brush quietly longer in the grooves. A good two minutes exposure time should then allow the cleaning solutions before the suction comes into action. Afterwards, most of the flea market treasures are already looking very neat.

But only after the obligatory, the pre-cleaning supplemental wash passage with Easy Groove Concentrate, for example, a Regatta de Blanc of Police ( listen to Amazon ) , who at a party obviously not only orange juice had come too close, play again completely free. The surface shimmers almost jet black, almost as it is used to from virgin vinyl. Of course, scratches are not washed out of vinyl even with the best shampoo. But apart from that, too, there is a completely unexpected calmness to notice. Chisto’s concept of thorough, deep-groove cleaning and almost complete elimination of static charge seems to be coming to fruition.

Without plate washer

In addition to the Chisto cleaning fluids developed for plate washing machines with suction equipment, Easy Groove Spray & Wipe is something special, as it also offers vinylists without a washing machine a way to rid plates more thoroughly than ever before of everyday dust and usual soiling.

The procedure is not difficult, since all the necessary utensils are included in the package: Spray the plate side to be cleaned with a little spray and wipe (preferably on a table with a soft base). Then place the plate on the turntable and while it is rotating, evenly distribute the liquid with the Chisto Duster, which consists of a special microfibre fabric. Then use Chistos Applicator (a brush with a very fine velvet cover) to really work the cleaning solution into the depths of the grooves. Finally, to dry with the Evolon cloth made of nonwoven absorb the liquid from the record. Both the Evolon handkerchief and the Duster can be washed in a washing machine (without fabric softener!).

The result of cleaning with the Easy Groove Spray & Wipe is virtually indistinguishable from that of many a plate washing machine. Although machine washing with Chisto cleaning solutions is still ahead of the pack due to the even quieter, smoother running sounds and subjectively more intense perceived tones, with Chistos Spray & Wipe there is a chance to carefully treasure treasures quickly and without too much effort to clean effectively. If you do not own a plate washing machine, you will be astonishingly wide with Chistos Spray & Wipe.

Conclusion: Chisto vinyl cleaner

In addition to a consistently effective cleaning result, Chistos cleaning products score with their easy handling and pleasing yield. Since the records cleaned with them spread not only visually, but also sound new shine, I find a recommendation very easy.